(sitting alone) Mr S Forrester v No appearance and No representation Gordon Strang & others — 2019

The claimant brought a claim described as non-payment of wages, but he did not provide detail of what sums were being sought. The respondent did not lodge a response. A hearing was arranged to determine what, if any, sums were due, and the claimant had previously been asked to set out the claim in writing but had not done so.

Neither party attended when the case was called. The Employment Judge made practicable enquiries into the claimant's absence, including checking file correspondence that had been returned with a possible new address and asking the clerk to telephone the number on the claim form and the hotel address listed on file. Contact could not be made, although the clerk was led to believe the claimant may have been resident there in live-in accommodation.

The tribunal noted that the claimant had made no enquiries about the progress of the claim, had not contacted the tribunal office, and had not advised of any new address or whether he intended to proceed. Referring to rule 47 of the Employment Tribunals (Constitution and Rules of Procedure) Regulations 2013, the judge concluded that it was in the interests of justice to dismiss the claim, particularly given the expense occasioned by fixing the hearing.

The judgment states that the claimant may seek reconsideration if it is in the interests of justice to do so, but he would need to explain why he failed to attend and set out precisely what he was claiming and why. The decision was therefore that the claim was dismissed.